2 days of Great Breweries, Awesome Beers, a Cool crowd and my first Travelling Pint Booth at the Festival = a lot of fun and a quenched thirst, for now....
This was the 2nd Winter Burlington Beerfest and the 4th they have put on including the summer versions but this was by far the largest with so many new breweries and even some Craft Beer Beef jerky all the way from Thunder Bay!!
For me it was an added bonus to have a booth at an event for a couple reasons; one being that I know benefits and promotes local craft breweries as opposed to massive beer corporations :) and two that I get to further submerged myself into the Craft Beer Culture that is really growing rapidly in Canada.
A few things define Craft Beer; Independent Ownership, Smaller Batches, Artisanal Styles, and Quality Ingredients, [that's] all natural and undiluted.
As it began Friday evening and the 2 rooms at the Holiday Inn started to fill with Craft Beer Fans the conversations & taps continued to flow as I had a chance to chat with most of the Breweries and vendors there and even got to taste some new beers I had on my list and a few new ones I discovered.
It was an even more grateful moment being able to chat to all the people there enjoying the beerfest as they circled by my booth as part of their circuit.
"What is it you do exactly?" a few asked...
“I Travel around visiting Craft Breweries & pubs, drinking beer and then bring it to the world via Blog & video” was my proud response.
I also teach people like you how to turn your passions into a business, build your Social Media Accounts and spend more time doing what you Love :)
I had some fans / followers that came for both the beer and to connect with me which was such an honour and amazing feeling! From London to Toronto and all the way from Ohio!! I have a great picture (below) I call “Beer Bloggers Unite!” and it was such and experience to connect and chat about what we are blogging about and giving back to the Craft Beer Community.
It was nice to be indoors as Saturday was a cold winter day and I look forward to the summer Burlington Beer fest that is held outdoors where I can bask in the sunshine and sip a cold one.
Some of the "New Kids on the Brewing Block" that were there; 20 Valley (St Catherines) & Brock street Brewery (Whitby) & a couple of the local favorites were Nickel Brook Brewing (Burlington) & Collective Arts Brewing (Hamilton).
A few that stood out to me were Bell City Brewing (Brantford) I love their humour, brewery and most of all the variety of great beer they offer & Orange Snail a two-man operation out of Milton that has awesome beer and the humble owners really stick to what they believe in.... keep your eyes on these guys. Representing the Innocente Booth was Shayn Sawchuk who is currently in the Brewing Program at Niagara...rad.
Among the other Breweries there were: Royal City Brewing Company Barnstormer Brewing Company The Three Brewers Muskoka Brewery Hop City Brewing Co. Brickworks Ciderhouse Cameron's Brewing Company Innocente Brewing Company Draught Dodger Brewery Black Oak Brewery Craft Jams Whitewater Brewing Company The Waterloo Brewing Co. Walkerville Brewery Side Launch Brewing Company Elora Brewing Company Mill Street Brewery Outlaw Brew Co. Shiny Apple Cider Ironwood Hard Cider
Bay Meats Butcher Shop...Craft Beer Beef Jerky all the way from Thunder Bay!!
From IPA's & Ales to Lagers & Stouts my pallet was blasted with flavour and after taste of beautifully Crafted Beers.
Over the next couple weeks I will write a quick blog on each Brewery there, what I tasted or they have and where they are located so you can go visit!
Or if you're in a rush to find out you can click on the Brewery above and be directed to their site.
Thanks again to everyone who participated, drank, laughed and made memories..
My final Thanks has to go to Wayne Brown, who, with co-organizer Scott, Jessica and their crew of volunteers pumped out the best-attended Burlington Beerfest to date!
I look forward, as always, to the next...
Cheers,
Tiffany